


You are not alone

by OneWithoutAName



Series: Thieves AU [5]
Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies), X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Alex Tries To Be A Good Brother, Alternate Universe - Still Have Powers, Alternate Universe - Thieves, Armando Is So Nice, BAMF Raven, But a decent runner, Charles Xavier has a Ph.D in Adorable, Erik Logic Is The Best Logic, Erik is not a Happy Bunny, Families of Choice, Gay Mutant Road Trip, Gen, M/M, Mentions of Mass Murder, More Terrible People, People are cruel, Period-Typical Racism, Sean is a terrible thief, Violence, questionable science
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-28
Updated: 2018-03-11
Packaged: 2019-03-10 14:45:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13503726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OneWithoutAName/pseuds/OneWithoutAName
Summary: This is like a montage. The gay mutant road trip told from the povs of the new recruits.





	1. Prologue. Strangers like us

**Author's Note:**

> I'm still alive! Sorry, I've been busy and lazy, but it finally continues, the story of our dear thieves.
> 
> So, this is going to be more like a collection of one-shots, each focusing on one new member of the group. I will put the possible warnings for each chapter on the notes. 
> 
> This is not a complete work yet, I have two more chapters to write, but I figured that I could start posting already. Maybe I will work faster then ^-^' I will update once a week, but if I finish the last chapters soon I might update sooner. We'll see.
> 
> But now please, enjoy.

The sun was already setting. It had been another long day full of work and building and Charles felt exhausted. But the work was worth it, because their new home was almost ready, well- at least for now. They might need to make it bigger later. After the encounter with Shaw and the other gifted, they had made a decision. They remembered how it had felt like, to be alone and afraid in the world where being different was a curse. They wanted to help people like them, show them that they were not alone. Thus, they started to build a safe haven for people like them. They wanted to offer them a family.

 

The house was well hidden in a valley, surrounded by cliffs and with only one way in, that being a barely visible tunnel, just big enough for a small wagon to go through. They had used bricks, stones, wood and metal to build the house, so it looked a bit odd, but it was sturdy and didn’t leek anywhere so the weird façade wasn’t too disturbing. Currently they had one spacious kitchen and dining room together, a study that would serve as a library when they would get some books there and other empty rooms still waiting to find their purpose. The bedrooms were on the second floor.

 

Erik put his empty bowl down and wrapped his arms around the telepath’s middle and moved so Charles was sitting between his legs, the back against the chest. They didn’t have a table or chairs yet, so they just sat on the wooden floor. The metalbender nuzzled his chin against the smaller man’s shoulder and neck and affection filled them both with warmth. Charles put his own bowl down too, even though it wasn’t empty yet and leaned back against his lover.

“How’s your shoulder?” He asked with a tender tone as he put his own arms over Erik’s and stroke them with his thumbs.

“A bit sore, but I don’t even notice it most of the time.” Erik hummed and pecked Charles’ cheek with his lips. The near death experience four months ago had left them both a bit clingy. Like there was this primal need to make sure that other was still alive and well.

“Good.” Charles said smiling and turned his head to catch the other man’s lips in a hungry kiss, despite the awkward angle.

 

“You bubs understand that you are not alone anymore, right?” A gruff voice made them turn their heads to the doorway, where Logan stood seemingly annoyed, arms crossed. Charles was just about to apologize, but Erik was faster.

“No one is forcing you to stay.” The metalbender said smirking and just tightened his hold of Charles, who shook his head and tried to hold a laugh. Logan lifted an unimpressed eyebrow and glared at the man.

“It’s your fault that I had to abandon my inn, so the least you could do, is to spare me from your sappy cuddling.” There was no real heat behind his words, but Charles still felt guilty that Logan had to leave his home because of them. Erik had mentioned about Logan to Shaw, so it was probable that the lunatic would try to get information from him, or do something even worse if he found out that Logan was a gifted too.

“I’m sorry my friend. We know that you didn’t ask for this.” Charles said and met the other man’s eyes.

 

Logan looked at the sad, blue eyes and sighed. He knew that they hadn’t asked for this either.

“Whatever. I have your chickens outside. Is the coop ready?” He tried to change the subject no one wanted to talk about. Luckily for him the telepath’s eyes sparked with elation.

“You got them? Fantastic!” Charles said as he wiggled away from Erik’s arms and stood up. “Their coop is on the southeast side of the house.” The young man spoke as he hurried past Logan to see their first new residents. Logan turned and followed after him, which made Erik hurry up. No matter how much he trusted Logan, he still didn’t like to leave Charles alone with the man for too long. Mostly because their first meeting had almost ended up bloody.

 

_It had been the first time in that town, four years ago. They had decided to stay in the local inn, The Wolverine, odd name in Erik’s opinion, but not the weirdest by far. They had gotten a room with two beds in it and were now eating some average soup downstairs, but Erik couldn’t relax. He didn’t like the way the innkeeper kept glancing at Charles and after a few minutes the telepath stopped speaking of whatever he was talking about and sighed._

_“Why are you so restless, my friend? Our last job went remarkably well, there’s no way the police will be able to follow us.” Charles assured, smiling at him, but the metalbender didn’t mirror the expression, instead he sent a glare towards the innkeeper, who was cleaning the bar and smoking a cigar. Charles frowned and followed Erik’s line of sight and then back._

_“What is it?” He asked again, seriousness audible in his voice._

_“He has been looking at you this whole time.” Erik said in a low voice. Charles relaxed seemingly._

_“Well, we are the only ones in the room.” He shrugged, but Erik wasn’t convinced._

_“I don’t like it.” He grunted, staring down at his half-finished meal._

_For a moment Charles just looked at him quizzically, until his lips turned to a small smirk_

_“Mr. Lehnsherr, are you jealous?” He teased, but Erik just clenched his jaw. He wasn’t jealous! He just didn’t like the way the man was looking at Charles. He didn’t want him to get hurt. “Oh, don’t worry, I’m sure it’s nothing.” The telepath tried to reassure. “I can check, maybe that will make you feel better.” And with that, Charles leaned casually forwards, brought his fingers to his temple and closed his eyes. Erik studied closely his expression. The smile flattered and was replaced with a small frown. Then suddenly Charles’ eyes flew open and he leaned back with a sharp inhale._

_“Charles?” Erik asked, concerned, but the telepath didn’t answer. A strong flush spread over his face and down on his neck and he refused to meet Erik’s eyes. It didn’t take long for Erik to put two and two together. “I’m going to kill that bastard!” He growled and stood up, seeing red._

_“Erik!” Charles hissed through his teeth and tried to stop him, but got only an unsteady grip of his jacket sleeve and Erik freed himself easily._

_He strode across the room to the bar, every inch of him ready to beat the man so badly he wouldn’t be able to move his little finger. The innkeeper lifted his eyes from the glass he was cleaning when he heard him approach._

_“What? Got a problem with something?” The man asked with gruff tone. He was bulky, but  shorter than Erik._

_“Actually,” Erik said and took a firm grip of the front of the man’s shirt. “I do.” He finished and punched the man’s face._

_“What the fuck?!” The innkeeper shouted, but when Erik tried hit him again he gripped his arm and stopped him. The man head-butted their foreheads together and the pain made Erik disorientated for a second. The innkeeper tried to push him away, but the metalbender didn’t let go of him. Instead he used the impact to pull the man over the bar and they both fell on the floor. He wasn’t sure, but he thought he heard Charles shout his name. They kept struggling on the floor, throwing punches, kicking and pushing, trying to get the upper hand. As the fight dragged on, Erik started to think that maybe he should have had some kind of a plan, but how was he supposed to know that this man knew how to fight! The innkeeper managed to push Erik off of him and they both struggled to get up._

_Standing seven feet between them and staring at each other, both men tried to catch their breath. The innkeeper seemed to be surprisingly intact, the first punch hadn’t even left a bruise._

_“I don’t know what your problem is, bub, but you should leave, before I lose my temper.” The innkeeper’s voice had a dangerous tone in it and would have made weaker men run away immediately, but Erik had heard threats his whole life, he had grown immune to them._

_“Just teaching you a lesson. I don’t like other people fantasizing about touching something that’s mine.” Erik growled, but before he could take even a step closer to the innkeeper, Charles stood between them._

_“Stop, that’s enough!” He demanded and glared between the two men. It might have been more effective, if he wasn’t so much smaller than both of them._ ‘What the hell was that, Erik?’ _Charles asked him telepathically, his voice clear and displeased._

‘Charles, please, get out of the way.’ _Erik asked him, worried that he might get hurt in the crossfire._

_Apparently, he wasn’t only one thinking that._

_“You should probably move, boy.” The innkeeper said and reached to move Charles aside, but as soon as Erik noticed that he pulled Charles behind him and growled._

_“Don’t.” He was ready to attack again, but the innkeeper didn’t look at him, but around the room, his eyes wide._

_“Erik!”_ ‘Stop that!’ _Charles warned and only then Erik realized that the metal around the room had started to shake and bend towards them._

_“What are you?” The innkeeper’s voice was just above a whisper and his whole body was tensed. Erik cursed himself for losing control like that._

_“Charles?” He asked and the telepath nodded, understanding._

‘I’ll take care of it, but don’t even think that I’m going to sleep with you in the same bed tonight.’ _But before he could even bring his fingers to his temple to concentrate to wipe the man’s memory, between the innkeeper’s knuckles grew three long bones, like claws._

_Erik stared at them, and beside him he heard Charles say_

_“We are like you.”_

 

In the end, they got to keep their room, but only after Erik had moved all the metal back as it was, and Charles didn’t sleep in the same bed with him for a week. They lived there the whole winter and managed to gain a trustworthy allay and a friend in the process. But Erik still made sure that the man didn’t try anything funny. Just in case.

 

…

 

After they had managed to move the chickens to the coop, (one of them had almost gotten away and Charles had almost died from laughter watching Erik and Logan chase it around the yard) they retreated back inside the house and Charles gave Logan some stew to eat.

“So, I guess that you’ll be leaving soon.” Logan asked between spoonfuls of stew.

“Yes, within a week. The sooner we find others like us, the better.” Not only to tell them that they were not alone, but that Shaw might be looking for them too. Erik didn’t want anyone to suffer in that man’s clutches.

“And how you, exactly, are going to find them?” Logan asked and Erik turned to look at Charles.

“I’ve noticed that the minds of gifted feel slightly different from the others. If I concentrate enough I’m quite confident that I can spot them in a crowd.” Charles explained and Erik felt pride swelling inside him. After Shaw, they had taken some time every day to hone their powers. Charles had been cautious at first, still afraid that he would hurt some one, but with daily practice, he had made huge progress, even with limited interaction with other people than him or Logan. He wasn't as comfortable with his gift as he used to be, but Erik was sure, that it was just a matter of time. 

 

“So, you say that you will just walk around and wait until someone catches your mind-eye. You two remember that you are wanted criminals, right?” Logan asked sarcastically, lifting one eyebrow. Before Erik could decide whether he should hit him in the face or not, for stating the obvious and thinking them so stupid that they didn’t have a plan, Charles answered already.

“I’m able to distract them. They won’t pay any attention to us as long as we don’t do anything suspicious.” It was his oldest trick, to make sure that his family wouldn’t notice him wandering around the house. It came handy in thieving job. “But it’s sweet that you worry.”  He added smiling, but his tone was teasing. Logan barked a laugh.

“Like hell I do. I just want you to live long enough so you can repay me my inn.”

“Oh don’t be so grumpy. I know that you care about us.”

“Maybe about you, Chuck, but not about your boyfriend.” To this moment, Erik had just listened the banter between the two, but now he wrapped his arm around the telepath’s waist possessively.

“The feeling is mutual.” He grinned at Logan who grinned back. Charles looked between them and shook his head.

“You two are impossible.” But his voice held no real heat and he just leaned closer to Erik, thinking about the people and new wonderful gifts they might encounter.

 

We will find you, I promise.


	2. Chapter 1. My true skin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No warnings, mild violence and terrible people.

A beautiful woman sighed heavily as she looked at a dark blue dress through a shop window. It reminded Raven of her own blue scales and that was why she had stopped to stare at it. She couldn’t help but wonder why she felt so… empty. She had everything a girl could ask for, money, a small yet charming house and good looks, (the last when she so whished). She had worked hard for the money she had, changing her shape and tricking people to give her money. After she had managed to gather a small fortune, she moved to this town, pretending to be a young widow, surviving with the money her husband had left her. Not a bad accomplishment from a 16-year-old.

 

A group of kids ran past her, laughing and screaming with joy. Raven followed them with her gaze and started to realize why she felt gloomy. She didn’t have any friends, not real ones at least. She did see her neighbors every now and then, but there were no one she could really talk about her past or about who she actually was. Everyone knew her as Elizabeth Foster, 24-year-old widow with pale skin, blond hair and blue eyes, not as Raven Darkholme, a teenage girl with blue, scaly skin, red hair and yellow eyes. She was sure, that if someone knew, she would end up dead.

 

“Elizabeth!” Speaking of her neighbors. Raven forced a smile to her face before she turned around to face the woman that walked towards her.

“Mrs. Whittle.” She greeted the middle-aged woman who lived next to her. She was a model citizen, a high standing husband (she made sure that everyone remembered that), four beautiful and smart children (her words, not Raven’s), she was part of Church board (which apparently made her an authorized preacher) and she always volunteered in every event and celebration there was in the town (so she could hear every gossip there was and spread them, most likely).

“Are you alright Elizabeth? I didn’t see you in the church last Sunday.” She said with exaggerated concern.

“Yes, I just felt a bit under the weather, so I thought that it was better if I stayed home.” Raven tried to sound wretched. Actually she just hadn’t had energy to sit still and listen their pastor doom everyone who wasn’t “normal” to hell.

 

Mrs. Whittle gave her a sympathetic smile, but it was same kind of smile adults gave to little children and only managed to annoy Raven.

“Well, I’m happy to see that you are feeling better. It was a very fine sermon, very inspiring. Pastor Kelly truly makes sure to keep this town clean of… improper people.” Her tone lowered a bit on the last two words and made Raven frown. This didn’t sound good.

“What do you mean?” She forced herself to keep her voice steady despite of the fear that twisted her inside. Had someone seen her in her blue form? But who? How?

“You remember Doctor McCoy, Doctor Simmons’ assistant?” She paused and continued only after Raven nodded. “Well, I heard that his feet were completely deformed. Ms. April told that they reminded her of the feet of an ape. Can you imagine how terrified she was when she saw them? Well, the pastor’s sermon made him understand that we don’t need that kind of people here. That freak left the town three days ago. Thankfully! I don’t know if I would have been comfortable to go to see Doctor Simmons anymore when someone like that thing-“ Mrs. Whittle’s babbling stopped sharply as Raven punched her straight in the nose. The blood and the cracking sound pleased the young girl. Hopefully she had broken her nose. The older woman fell down from the impact and held her nose, crying in pain.

“Who is deformed now, vulture.” She spit out, turned around and left the scene just when other people were starting to gather closer.

 

Raven walked fast around the corner and to a small alleyway before she stopped, letting out her breath. She needed a moment to gather her thoughts. On the one hand, she felt wonderful! She had wanted to do that too long. But on the other hand, this would come and bite her back. Mrs. Whittle would make her life a living hell now. There was no way the town’s people would take Elizabeth’s side at this, that woman was loved by everyone. It would be better to leave now, before they would chase her away. Yes. She would leave this dirty place with her head held high, without their yells and curses behind her.

 

Happy with her decision she turned around, ready to head back to her house to gather her few things, but someone was blocking her way.

“Hello there young lady. Do you have a moment?” The dark-haired man asked smiling happily and Raven reacted with an instinct. She kicked him to his side. It was a bit difficult while wearing a dress, but she had enough power to send him crashing to the wall, hit his head and then fall to the ground where he stayed still.

“Shit.” She said through her teeth when she realized what she had done. She didn’t mean to! The man had just surprised her! Raven bit her thumbnail and tried to decide what she should do. If someone sees her standing beside this unconscious man, especially now that she had started to gain violent reputation, it would be difficult to leave the town before they send the sheriff after her. She looked around and saw some barrels beside the wall. Those would do.

 

Raven dragged the limb man behind the wooden barrels and made sure that he wasn’t visible from the main street. The thought accrued to her, that somebody might have seen the man coming to the alley and if they didn’t see him come out, they would grow suspicious. And the people in town were probably looking for her already, and even if they weren’t, Raven didn’t want to face them as Elizabeth Foster. So, Raven took the shape of the man on the ground and hurried away from the alley, still keeping her pace slow enough that she didn’t draw any attention. Now she only needed to get her things and get out of here. Start over somewhere else. Maybe in some big city in the east.

 

The longer Raven walked, more she started to think about the poor man she had knocked out. He hadn’t seemed harmful, actually quite opposite, with a cheerful smile and curious eyes, he had seemed actually friendly. She had just been a bit skittish at the moment. Hopefully the man would be alright. Maybe she could move his body a little so someone could see him and help-. Raven were suddenly hauled to another alley and pushed face first against a brick wall. She tried to struggle, but there was two rough hands keeping her still and soon she felt a knife on the side of her neck. The feeling of the cold blade made her freeze. Sheer struggling wouldn’t get her free, she needed to think!

“Where is Charles? What did you do to him?” A male voice was low and dangerous, making Raven’s blood run cold.

“Wh- what?” She asked with the man’s voice, trying to play time. Just like that, she was flipped around to face her attackers. No, one attacker. There were only one man standing before her. He was tall and well fitted, but not bulky. He had some auburn stubble on his chin and his grey eyes were burning with fury. He was holding her hands tightly against the wall with his own. But… in that case, who was holding the knife? Raven let her eyes dart down and saw the knife, floating in the air. The knife was floating in the air! How was that possible?

 

“I asked, where is Charles? I know that you’re not him. So what did you do to him?” The man grew seemingly impatience and Raven decided that the element of surprise would be her best chance. So, without any warning, she turned into her normal, blue form and the man backed away from her in surprise.

Raven didn’t waste any time and directed a kick towards man’s head. The man blocked the attack and Raven saw that her upper hand was soon gone, so she sprinted towards the main road, changing her form into a small girl. She didn’t make it far though when something hard and cold wrapped around her waist and pulled her back. A twisted metal pipe? This day became more and more weird. She tried to rip the pipe away, but it didn’t even stir and Raven knew that only thing she could do anymore was to scream and beg that somebody would come to help her.

 

She didn’t get the chance, though. The scream stayed in her throat and she felt something warm and comforting moving around her. It felt odd, but not menacing. Actually it felt somehow familiar.

 _‘Don’t be afraid. We are not going to hurt you.’_ It was the same man from the previous alley. But that didn't make any sense... How was she able to hear him?

“Charles.” The other man sighed quietly to himself, turning his attention to the main street, like he was waiting for something. Soon enough, the man Raven had knocked out walked to the alley, nursing the side of his head with his hand. With the corner of her eye, Raven saw the other man’s shoulders drop.

“Sorry, it was my fault. I was too excited to remember to read a room.” The dark-haired man said sheepishly, giving a reassuring look to the other man before he turned towards Raven. “I’m very sorry for all this trouble. This wasn’t how I wanted this meeting to go, at all. What do you say, if Erik here unties you and you won’t run away?” The man asked, his tone friendly and expression open, but Raven weren’t so easily sweet-talked.

“Why should I trust you?” She spoke firmly with confidence, although the effect was broken a bit because of her appearance. From a child, this kind of angry speech sounded more adorable than anything else.

 _‘Because we have something in common with you.’_ Raven stared open-mouthed at the man whose voice she clearly heard, but his lips didn’t move.

“How did you..?” Raven tried her best comprehend what was happening. First the knife and now this! What?! The dark-haired man smiled at her with sympathy.

“It’s my gift.” He said calmly.

“I’m not sure I understand.” Raven shook her head.

“Maybe we should move this conversation somewhere more private.” The taller man interrupted before the other could say anything more. The men shared a look and the shorter man nodded.

“Yes, that would actually be a good idea.” He murmured and looked quickly around.

“I was just on my way to my house.” Raven said. She could listen what these two had to say while she packed her things. The men shared another look and Raven started to think that they were actually having a conversation of some sort.

 

Soon, the shorter man smiled at her again and nodded.

“That sounds good. Please, show the way.” And like that the metal pipe uncurled itself and flew to the ground. Raven drew a deep breath as she changed her form into a man he had once met years ago and tried to compose herself. The dark-haired man looked at her with almost childlike curiosity and the other with amazement. Raven couldn’t help but feel pleased about the positive attention.

“Shall we then?” She asked and walked out of the alley, towards her apartment.

 

…

 

The walk was quiet and short and soon Raven was back in her blond form, looking for her suitcase. The men followed her to the door of her room, but didn’t step inside, giving her space to move around.

“We were not able to introduce ourselves properly before.” The dark-haired man said, leaning against the doorframe. “I’m Charles Xavier.”

“Erik Lehnsherr.” The taller man said after his friend, seemingly more alert of his surroundings.

“Raven Darkholme. How did you find me?” She asked, but didn’t stop packing.

“It’s part of my gift.” Charles explained. “I can read minds and people with special powers like ours feel a bit different from ordinary people. Like dots of red in a grey painting.” Raven stilled for a moment and looked at the door over his shoulder.

“Are you reading my mind now?” She asked distrustfully. She didn’t like the idea of someone poking her thoughts. Charles raised his hands.

“I’m not. I can block them out most of the time, but strong feelings and thoughts can sometimes break through.” She wasn’t completely satisfied and it had to show, because the man continued. “I try to give people their privacy.”

“That’s true.” Erik said and Raven’s eyes moved to him.

“And what exactly can you do?” Her tone was rude, but the man didn’t seem to mind it and actually smirked. God, he looked like a shark!

“I manipulate metal.” And as to prove that he made a small gesture with his hand and some coins floated from his pocket to his hand. Like the knife on her throat and the metal pipe around her earlier weren't proof enough.

 

Raven measured the men for a moment, before she closed the suitcase that now held her few belongings.

“Alright. I believe you. But why did you find me? What do you want?” She asked and turned around to face the men, who once again shared a look. Erik gestured to Charles in a way that said ‘go ahead’ and the smaller man took a deep breath.

“Nothing, if that is what you wish. At least we wanted to show you that you are not alone.” Raven nodded, telling him to continue. “And we also need to warn you…”

 

Charles then told her about a man named Sebastian Shaw and his followers. What had happened between them and how they now had built this place for gifted people like them. Along that story it became clear that these two were not on the right side of the law, but it didn’t bother Raven. She had tricked people herself, so she only felt awe towards the man who were ready to use their abilities so readily. She used her power in daily basis, but because she was afraid, not because she enjoyed it. There was a difference.

 

“So it’s your choice now and we will respect it whatever it is. And if you choose not to come with us, the offer will still stand if you ever decide otherwise.” Charles ended his speech and Raven considered her possibilities. She didn’t even know these people. For all that she knew they could be murderers or something even worse. But they didn’t seem like that and Raven thought that she had a good knowledge of human nature. And with the powers the two held, they could have killed her ages ago. Besides, this place they described, a place where they wouldn’t have to be afraid of other people’s judgement, sounded like a heaven on earth. It would truly feel great to be able to walk in her own skin. And maybe, maybe she wouldn’t feel alone anymore. And she had already been planning to skip the town.

 

Raven smiled and nodded to the men.

“I would love to come with you. If I can use my true form there.”  She told them and feeling brave, let herself turn blue. Charles turned his head away as soon as he noticed that she didn’t wear any clothes and she could see his face turn red. Erik, on the other hand, kept his eyes on her and nodded.

“Perfection.” He said and gained a slap to his upper arm from flustered Charles.

“Erik!” He hissed, but the taller man only chuckled and lifted one eyebrow when the other glared at him. These two were truly an odd pair, Raven thought. Charles cleared his throat before he spoke up. “Of course you can, but maybe you could still keep some clothes on?” He said, still looking away. Raven smirked impishly, but nodded.

“Fine.” She said and changed her form back to the man she had disguised as when they had walked here. When Charles turned his eyes back to her she gave him a playful wink making him shook his head.

“We have a wagon, but if you own a horse, you can, of course, take it.” He said, still trying to compose himself. The words made an excellent idea to form in her mind.

“Oh, yes, I have one.” She said, smiling like a devil.

 

…

 

“Mr. Whittle? I didn’t expect you to be here today.” The man caring for the stables said in surprise.

“I need my best horse.” Raven said, not offering the man an explanation. He did as he was told and soon he brought saddled black stallion to her.

“I heard that your wife were hurt earlier today…” It wasn’t a clear question, but Raven heard the curiosity in the man’s tone. She mounted herself and took the reins.

“She was punched in the face. And if you ask me, the hag was asking for it.” The expression of shock on the man’s face was priceless as Raven rode away after her words.

 

Charles and Erik were waiting her outside the town, sitting on the wagon. They looked at her as she changed her form to a blond, yellow-eyed, 16-year-old girl before Erik encouraged their horses to move. Raven rode beside them, smiling brightly and felt excitement grow inside her heart. For now, this would do, but as soon as night arrived, she would change into her own skin. 


	3. Chapter 2. Runaways

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for period typical racism, violence, minor character deaths (bad people), mentions of mass murder  
> Wow this turned dark... ^-^' But it's not as bad as it sounds!

Armando held Ororo in his arms as the girl slept peacefully. Poor girl was exhausted from all the walking of the day. He himself was tired too, but he couldn’t sleep. He was afraid that the moment he closed his eyes They would find them and finish the job. So he stayed awake and listened to the noises of the dark forest. He hadn’t built a fire, he didn’t want to take a risk that They would see the smoke and find them. The nights were warm, thankfully as their simple clothes didn’t provide that much protection from cold. Still, Armando worried that Ororo would catch a cold if they didn’t find some place to stay and soon.

 

He moved the girl little closer and tugged his jacket more firmly around her. It was strange how quickly one’s life could change. One moment he was sleeping in his bed, the next he was escaping a flaming house and running away from people with bloodthirsty thoughts. It had been a chaos, people screaming and dying, so many already dead, the flames destroying their homes… Armando had seen Ororo, standing alone on the street and crying for her mother, who had been trapped inside a burning house. In the middle of all that, Armando had made a choice and grabbed the girl in to his arms and ran. They were followed, but he just kept running until the morning light. He was quite sure that he and Ororo were the only survivors.

 

Maybe he should have stayed and fought. That was a thought that haunted him all day and night. He should have done more.

 

The sound of horses made Armando snap out of his thoughts. His body went stiff as he listened closely. Two or four horses and one wagon, traveling on the road close to their resting place. It was a strange time to be traveling, Armando thought and felt uneasy. Could those be the people that had attacked them? Did They follow them because They wanted to finish the job?

 

Unconsciously, he hugged Ororo closer to him, trying to protect her. Then, he stayed absolutely still, not daring to move a muscle and listened as the riders passed them. Armando was ready to relax when they suddenly stopped seemingly for no reason. His heart skipped a beat, had they noticed them? How? He didn’t dare to breathe and his legs were ready to dash if he heard that the riders were about to come closer. A moment stretched and nothing happened. Armando dared to breathe again, the threat of the situation diminishing with every second. They would make through this, Armando was sure of it.

 

_‘You don’t need to be afraid.’_ A foreign voice made Armando startle, but he stayed put. _‘We are friends. You don’t have to hide. We are not going to hurt you or your small friend.’_ The voice was warm and calming. Like how a parent would speak to their upset child. Armando wanted to believe it and go to meet the owner of this voice, but he wasn’t sure if it could be trusted. Maybe it was a trap. How did it know that he was here and that he was not alone? _‘No, Armando, I’m speaking the truth.’_ The voice told and only then did he realize that he didn’t actually hear the voice. It was like it was speaking straight to his mind. _‘You are a clever young man. My name is Charles, this is my gift. You have a gift too, don’t you?’_ Armando felt overwhelmed. Yes, he had strange abilities. It was like his body was able to withstand anything by transforming whenever the situation called for it. He still remembered the first time he had grown a pair of gills while swimming. It had scared him half to death. But could this voice truly be something familiar to him?

 

_‘You are not alone Armando. Please, let us meet face to face.’_ It felt like the voice offered him its hand and Armando, feeling strangely peaceful, took it. He stood up and walked towards the wagon on the road, illuminated by the moon and couple of lanterns. He stopped at the edge of the wood line. There were three people there. One man sitting on the wagon, holding the rains, one woman riding on the one horse that wasn’t attached to the wagon and finally one man standing on the road closest to Armando. It was a bit difficult to see properly, but he seemed to be smiling.

“Hello Armando. I’m Charles Xavier, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” The man’s voice is same that Armando heard in his head.

“I’m Raven, and the scary one is Erik.” The blond woman said cheerfully. The man sitting on the wagon, Erik, glared at her but she just smiled back at him innocently.

“Well, you know my name already, and I suppose you know Ororo’s too.” Armando said as he improved his hold of the still sleeping girl. Charles seemed to become sheepish and he tugged his head down a bit, but he was still smiling.

“Yes, it was rude of me to dig up your thoughts like that. I apologize, but I wanted to talk to you and it would have been a bit difficult if you had ran off.” He shrugged and looked up again. “We were just about to call it a day and build a camp. Would you like join us?” It wouldn’t be wise. The smoke would attract those who might be tailing him and Ororo. It would only cause trouble for all of them if two of them stayed.

“I’m not sure if it’s a good idea.” He said, ready to turn around and leave.

“Together we are stronger.” Erik spoke for the first time, his voice firm like a commander’s. “Whoever is chasing you, you can be sure that they will regret it if they find us all.” His tone had a dangerous edge in it, which made Armando feel uneasy, but the words themselves sounded true. Charles glanced at Erik briefly before looking back at Armando.

“He’s right. We can protect you.” Charles said and gave him a reassuring look.

“And what do you want in return?” Nothing was free, Armando knew it well enough. No one helped just because of their good heart, there was always a price. The question was, what was theirs? Charles let out a short laugh.

 “If you just listen what we have to say, we are good. Nothing more.” He said and when Armando still felt unsure, Raven spoke up.

“You should. I did, and right now it has been the best decision of my whole life.” She winked at him and then her skin seemed to ripple and turned blue, her hair red and shorter and her eyes bright yellow. “You’re among friends now.” She said and Armando felt his mouth open in awe.

 

He didn’t need any more persuasion after that and soon he found himself sitting with these odd people around a campfire. Ororo had woken up at some point and was now staring intensively at a small piece of metal that Erik molded into different shapes. Raven too was focusing on that and asked the girl questions about her favorite things. While that was happening, Charles told Armando about them, their powers, a bit of their past and about other people like them, who were dangerous. When he asked Armando if he wanted to come with them, assuring that Ororo would of course be welcome too, the young man felt a little overwhelmed. He leaned his head on his hands and took a deep breath. They didn’t exactly have any other place to go. He hadn’t thought this that far. But right now, he was reluctant to make quick decisions. How many lives it had cost last time he had done so?

 

He felt a hand land on his shoulder and when he looked up, he saw Charles’ blue eyes look back at him with so much understanding it was almost hard to bare.

_‘You shouldn’t beat yourself for what happened. There was no wrong choice there to make.’_ He spoke with his mind, without moving his lips. Armando felt stinging in his eyes and took a steadying breath.

“I might have been able to save them.” He whispered, not trusting in his own voice.

_‘Or they all might have still been killed. You will never know. But you saved one.’_ Charles’ eyes moved past Armando and when he followed his gaze he saw Ororo, giggling at Raven who imitated funny voices. _‘Thanks to you, she’s alive and can now grow up to be anything she wants.’_ Charles’ continued.

“She doesn’t remember what happened.” Armando said, without moving his eyes of the scene before him. She looked so carefree, but how long?

_‘It’s not unusual after traumatic event. She might never remember, or maybe she will with time. Only time will tell.’_

“How can I ever be enough? I can never take her family’s place.” Tears started to fall down on his cheeks.

_‘She will always remember her family, like you will remember yours. They will be with you forever. But right now she needs you. And I can tell, that you’ll do fine. You are levelheaded, patient and goodhearted young man.’_ Along the words, Armando saw pictures in his mind. Memories from his past, times when his parents had told him that they were proud of him, times when he had taken care of his younger siblings, times when he had helped others. Armando turned to look at the telepath and saw tears in his eyes too.

“I’m sure you can do it.” He said with a smile and Armando felt the weight on his shoulders lessen.

 

“Why are you crying Armando? Are you sad?” Ororo’s concerned voice and a small hand that tugged his shirtsleeve made him turn his head and look beside him. She was standing next to him, frowning and looking at him with her big brown eyes. Armando smiled at her and patted her black hair gently.

“It’s nothing you need to worry about sweetie.” He smiled a little and reassured the girl, who seemed thoughtful for a moment.

“Would a hug help? Mom always hugged me when I was sad.” She said and Armando couldn’t help but smile a little wider.

“It might help, actually.” He said and without further ado Ororo wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. He returned the gesture and hugged the girl back. Maybe this all would work out just fine.

 

“What do you say sweetie, should we go to live with these nice people?” Armando asked when Ororo finally let go of him. The expression of full excitement on the girl’s face was something magnificent to witness.

“Can we?” She asked, not believing what she was hearing and when he nodded she let out a cheerful shriek that was almost painfully high. “Did you hear that miss Raven? We will come to live with you!” She screamed and hopped to Raven who laughed in delight. Armando looked at the small girl and thought, that yes, maybe this would work out just fine.

 

The thought was lost when he heard Erik’s alert voice.

“Charles?” The man was looking at his friend with a frown and when Armando turned around, he saw the telepath looking in the darkness, like he was seeing something there.

“What is it?” Armando asked, looking between the two men. Raven and Ororo had stopped laughing and were now doing the same.

“There are people coming this way.” He said and Armando went completely stiff.

“Are they… Them?” He asked, sure that Charles knew what he meant. The telepath closed his eyes and brought two fingers to his temple. Five seconds past in complete silence, only thing breaking it were the sound of the fire and animals in the forest. Armando prayed that he was wrong, that those people were just some travelers and they would be safe. The thin line of Charles’ mouth told that he was unfortunately right.

“Yes, it’s Them.” He said, opening his eyes.

“Can you make them change direction?” Erik asked, but the other man shook his head.

“Too many of them, but not too many that we couldn’t handle them.” He said and turned to look at Armando. “Take Ororo and hide in the wagon. Raven, you too.” The boy did as he was told and lifted the little girl up, but Raven didn’t move an inch.

“No way! I will stay right here and help you.” Her voice was sharp and Armando saw Charles pinch the bridge of his nose.

“Raven, we have no time for this.” He told, but Raven only seemed to get more willpower from it.

“I thought that we were meant to protect each other. I’m not a little girl who doesn’t know how to fight!” She stood up now, hands on her hips. Charles opened his mouth to argue, but Erik cut him off, before he could say anything.

“Do you know how to shoot?” He asked Raven and Charles looked the man with wide eyes, but didn’t say anything. Out loud, at least.

“Yes.” Raven said and lifted her chin, proud of it. Armando was surprised, it was a rare talent for a young woman. Erik nodded towards the wagon.

“There is a rifle in the wagon. Stay out of the sight and shoot if it comes to that.” He told and kept his eyes on Raven’s. She still looked unpleased, but after a moment, nodded and followed Armando and Ororo inside the wagon.

 

Armando sat Ororo down on the wagon’s floor and held her by her shoulders.

“Listen to me sweetheart, we must be very quiet now.” He explained to her, keeping his voice calm and steady even when he felt everything but.

“Is it because of the people coming this way?” She asked and Armando nodded.

“Yes. Those are bad people and they must not know that we are here. So we must hide here and stay silent. Can you do that for me?” He asked and Ororo nodded, determination in her eyes. “Good girl.” He said and sat down beside her. In the meantime, Raven had found the rifle and loaded it, sitting close to the doorway, but still out of the sight.

 

Soon, they were able to hear the sounds of horses and men coming closer and finally stopping right at the camp.

“Good evening, chaps. It’s a strange time to be riding in the wild.” They heard Charles’ voice, friendly as ever, like he didn’t know what those people had done. _‘There’s eight men, all armed.’_ Charles briefed Armando with his mind-talk. He glanced at Raven, their eyes met and she gave him a small nod. She had heard Charles too.

“We’re looking for two Negro kids. A teenage boy and a small girl. Have you seen them?” A gruff male voice asked, skipping the small talk. Good, maybe they would leave them alone faster in that case.

“No, I can’t say that I have. Have you, my friend?” There was no answer, so Armando assumed that Erik just shook his head, because after a small pause Charles continued. “Hmm, yes. Sorry that we couldn’t help you. Maybe you should try from east?”

“Maybe.” The male voice said and Armando could hear how the men started to leave. Was it already over? Had it truly been so easy? Armando was amazed, but then there was another male voice calling loudly.

“Hey! I’ve seen your faces before!” There was heavy silence. “Yeah! You’re the guys who robbed the bank in Michigan City!”

 

Before Armando even realized what was happening, the hell seemed to break loose. Shouts, cries and gun-shots rang in the air and for a moment it was all too overwhelming for him. It reminded him of _that_ night. Armando blinked rapidly, trying to get himself back together. Ororo’s small voice beside him helped him with that.

“Armando! We have to help them!” He turned to look at the girl beside him. She looked scared and was tugging his shirt to get his attention. Yes. Help. He could help! This time, he would help!

“You stay here and keep down. I’ll be back soon.” He told the girl and stood up, walking beside Raven who was shooting towards the men with the rifle. Three men were lying on the ground. Erik was fighting of two and a few meters away from him Charles was fighting with one. “Keep her safe!” He shouted at her over the noise of the fight. Raven turned to look at him with wide eyes.

“Are you crazy!? Get down!” As a cue, one of the men who still had his gun and was standing away from the battle shot towards them, the bullet hitting Armando straight to his chest. But it didn’t do any damage, it didn’t even break his skin. Skin that now was much thicker and hard like scales of a dragon. Raven shot the man, who fell down with a cry of pain.

“Never mind, go on!” She shouted at him as she reloaded the gun.

 

Armando hopped down from the wagon and weighted his options, which one to help, Erik or Charles? Erik had managed to knock out one of the men and was now in one on one fight with the other. Armando turned to look at Charles who managed to bring his hand to the other man’s head and with a yelp the man fell down like a puppet with cut strings. The telepath shook violently his head couple of times, not noticing one man who was sneaking behind him, a rock in his raised hand.

“Watch out, Charles!” Armando shouted and sprinted towards them. Charles looked at him before he turned around just as the man brought his hand down to hit him with the rock. Charles raised his hands to protect his head, but only managed slow the blow a little. Armando watched how the brunet fell down with a grunt and the man who attacked him kneeled over him, ready to finish the job. He willed his legs move faster, he was almost there!

 

With a yell that made the man startle, and that second was all he needed, Armando leaped and tackled the man to the ground. They struggled on the ground, the man trying to hit Armando with the rock, but his skin turned hard again and protected the boy from the damage. He grabbed the man’s wrist and twisted it. The man yelled out and let go of the rock. He glared at Armando with hate and disgust.

“Get of me you freaking coon!” He spat and Armando didn’t hesitate to punch the man in the face, once, twice, three times before the man fell unconscious. One or two more and he would be dead. Armando let his arm fall down and let go of the man, who was now out cold. No. He wouldn’t be like them. He wasn’t a murderer.

 

A strained groan broke in through the noise of his fast heartbeat and heavy breathing. Armando turned and saw Charles struggling to sit up.

“Is it really wise for you to stand up yet?” The boy asked as he moved beside the telepath, who was holding his head with one hand.

“I’ve had worse.” The man offered him pained smile. “Help me up?” Armando still wasn’t sure if it were a good idea, but did as he was asked to and helped the man sit straight.

“Verdammt, Charles!” They heard Erik curse and soon enough the man was kneeling in front of the telepath. “I told you to stay close.” The man said with an angry tone, but Charles didn’t seem bothered about that.

“I think I was close enough.” The brunet offered a reassuring smile. “And I’m fine. No lasting damage done, I’m sure of it, thanks to Armando.” The telepath patted him on the back and the boy shrugged.

“I had to do something.” He managed, not knowing what else to say. Erik’s steely eyes met his and the man nodded quickly.

“Thank you.” The man’s voice had weight to it that made Armando want to flee from the intense stare, but stayed put and held the eye contact until Erik turned his eyes back on Charles and spoke with almost tender voice. “Let me see.”

 

Charles moved his somewhat bloody hand out of the way and for a man who had just killed people few minutes ago, Erik’s hands moved the telepath’s head very gently. Charles flinched when the older man moved his hair so he could see the damage.

“How does it look?” Armando asked, not seeing the wound from where he was kneeling.

“The cut is shallow, doesn’t even bleed anymore. Do you feel disorientated or nauseous?” Erik didn’t let go of Charles’ face, even when it was clear that he didn’t study the wound anymore. Armando started to have a slight suspicion that maybe there was something more between these two.

“Not more than usually and it will be gone by the morning.” Charles assured and Erik shook his head with a sigh before he turned to look Armando.

“Help him back to the wagon and clean the wound, if you can.” Charles lifted an unimpressed eyebrow, but said nothing.

“Of course. And then?” The boy asked as he helped the telepath stand up.

“We should leave here as soon as I’m done with the cleaning.” Armando got the hidden meaning behind the words and a shudder ran through his body. Charles glanced at him and then looked at Erik.

“Erik, I could-“. But before he was able to say more, the older man raised his hand.

“No, you can’t. Messing with five men’s head would strain you badly on a good day. You know your limits Charles, this is too much for you right now.” Charles looked like he wanted to argue, but nodded instead.

“Just… Be quick.” He said and for that Erik nodded.

 

Back in the wagon, Raven had busied Ororo with unpacking some bedrolls and spreading them on the floor of the wagon.

“Thank you Raven.” Charles said as he sat down on a wooden chest that contained some everyday objects, like soap and candles, they had bought for the house. Armando looked around to see if there were medical supplies somewhere in the wagon. Immediately he received a mental image of one of the boxes that Charles apparently had sent to him. He nodded to the telepath as he reached the box and started to treat the small wound on Charles’ head with a wet cloth.

“I imagine you are happy now that we were here to help you.” Raven said smirking smugly, looking at Charles, who let out a small sigh.

“I just didn’t want any of you to get hurt.” He said, but continued as he saw how Raven raised an unimpressed eyebrow. “But yes, I’m thankful for your help.”

“I can see where you come from, but wasn’t it a bit foolish to go against eight armed and dangerous men just by two of you?” Armando joined the conversation and the telepath offered him a sly smile.

“Possibly, but Erik and I have been through even worse situations. We know how to fight together as a team.”

 

Raven sat down on one of the bedrolls and crossed her legs.

“Well, you just have to teach us too.” Charles looked taken aback by her words, blinking at her with disbelieve.

“I’m not sure that’s-“ He started, but Raven cut him off.

“I want to learn! I want to be part of your gang!” She leaned slightly forwards and Charles lifted his hands in calming gesture.

“There is no gang.” He told, but Raven just huffed in disbelief.

“Sure there is.” And before she could say anything more, Armando joined the conversation, voicing the question that had been nagging him for a while now.

“They said you robbed a bank… Were they telling the truth?” He asked and the sheepish look on Charles’ face told him the answer before the telepath said it aloud.

“I don’t want to lie to you, Armando. Erik and I work in the wrong side of the law, but we don’t expect you do the same.” He reassured the young man and gave a meaningful look toward Raven too.

 

For a moment there was silence, until Ororo, who had sat down next to Raven, spoke up.

“If you are a thief, doesn’t it mean that you are a bad man?” She asked frowning, like the idea didn’t fit right in her head. Charles looked at the small girl and it seemed that he wasn’t sure how to answer or whether he even knew the answer.

“No, Charles is very good and kind man.” Erik’s voice made them all look up where the man climbed to sit in front of the wagon. “I’m the bad one here. I just corrupted him.” He said with a smirk and Charles sighed, like this was something the man said often.

“You know that’s not true.” The brunet said and the older man lifted an eyebrow.

“Isn’t it, though?” He teased before he turned and gathered the rains. “We’re ready to leave. It might be better if you get some sleep now.” And with that, he encouraged the horses to move and the Wagon swayed slightly as it was pulled along.

 

Sleep sounded nice for Armando, as he hadn’t been able to get a good night sleep for a while, but there was still questions in his mind.

“Erik is right, you should get some sleep. We can talk more tomorrow.” He told them and patted Armando on the shoulder before he stood up and joined Erik, sitting beside him, Raven calling after him that she will hold him onto that.

“I meant you too.” Erik said with dry voice, but the other just smiled warmly at him.

“I’ll keep you company for a few hours first.” Yet again Armando wondered if there was something going on between the two.

“I know right.” Raven said quietly like she was the one who could read minds. “I’m quite sure that they are together, but I can’t be completely sure.” She glanced at the two men, thoughtful expression on her face.

 

A sound of a long yawn made Armando turn his head to Ororo, who looked exhausted. Poor thing, this had been a long night.

“Come on dear, time for bed.” Armando said and moved the girl to the bedroll beside him and covered her with a blanket. She mumbled something that sounded like ‘good night’ and fell asleep just like only a child could.

“I think I’ll follow her example. Could you hand me a blanket too?” Raven asked and reached out for a blanket that Armando gladly passed on and then took one for himself. He blew out the lantern and laid down on the bedroll next to Ororo.

“Good night, Raven.” He whispered.

“Good night, Armando.” She whispered back from her bed roll on the other side of Ororo. After a moment he made his mind and thought clearly as he could _‘Good night Charles.’_ Almost immediately he could feel a warm presence in his mind and whispered words _‘Good night, Armando’_ made him smile. He laid awake for a while, thoughts running around his head, but the feeling of calm and safe made him loose the battle against sleep in the end.


	4. Chapter 3. Brothers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Mentions of death

There were so many people. Scott felt slightly sick, knowing what they had come to see. A hanging. But not just any hanging, but the hanging of Alex, his brother. Scott looked up at the platform, where the empty noose swung in the slight wind. For the young boy it looked ominous and accusatory, even under the warm midday sun. He couldn’t stand it. Scott walked fast in opposite direction. He couldn’t watch it. He didn’t want to see his brother die. He felt stinging in his eyes and suddenly it was hard to breathe. He needed to get away. As far as he could manage. He ran, not seeing properly through the tears that were now fell wildly down his cheeks. This had to be a bad dream!

 

Suddenly he ran into something solid. He started to fall back from the recoil, but a large hand gripped him by the shoulder and steadied him.

“Hello there, boy. Are you alright?” A gentle voice of a man made him look up. There were two adult men in front of him. The taller one, who still had a firm grip on his arm looked back at him with a frown. The other one was standing beside him and looked worried.

“What’s wrong? Maybe we can help.” The smaller, brunet, man crouched down on his level and watched him with gentle blue eyes. Scott let out a hiccup and wiped his eyes onto his shirtsleeve.

“I- It’s my brother. He’s going to die.” His voice broke in the last word and he couldn’t stop sobs that escaped deep inside him. The man before him stroked Scott’s shoulders gently.

“Shh, it’s alright. Please, tell us what happened.” The man hushed and Scott felt himself to slowly calm down. It felt almost like it did when Alex comforted him.

“He- He will be hanged soon and it- It’s my fault!” Scott hid his face in his hands, the shame and hopelessness becoming too much. The memories flooded over him. Fighting with Alex, running outside when it was already dark, the faceless men who took him to the storage in the outskirts of the town, how he cried for his brother to come to help him. And Alex had found him, fought the men, told Scott to run and he had. Then, there had been a red blast of light and the storage had ignited like dry hay. Alex had made it out in time, but the other men were stuck inside. People came running and started to try and put out the fire but for nothing. There was nothing to save. The sheriff took Alex away, despite how Scott tried to tell him not to. Later, they told him that there was no bodies to be found in the storage or close to it. They said that Alex had started the fire on purpose. And because he had caused trouble many times before and this time someone could have died, they said that he was too dangerous to live.

 

“Don’t worry Scott. We’ll help your brother.” The man’s voice dragged Scott back to the reality.

“How- How do you know my name?” He sniffled and the man smiled reassuringly at him.

 _‘Because, like your brother, we have extraordinary talents too.’_ The man’s mouth didn’t move, but the words sounded as clear as ever. Scott’s eyes widened and he looked between the two men.

“And we are not going to let your brother die.” The older man spoke and for the first time in three days, Scott felt hope in his heart.

 

…

 

Alex was lying on a bed in his cell. Well, a bed was generous way to describe it. It was only wooden frame covered with thin layer hay and one blanket. The midday was coming closer and closer and he had thought that he would have felt much more frantic, but he only felt numb. Like he was watching this all from outsider’s perspective. It all seemed so surreal. Soon he would be dead, just like that. Maybe it’s better for everyone, a dark voice said from the corner of him mind. After all, you are dangerous to everyone around you. It was true, he was dangerous, lethal even. Alex didn’t know how or why he got this curse, but he must have done some unforgivable shit in his past life to deserve this.

 

He sighed in frustration and ran a hand through his blond hair. Only thing that worried him now was his little brother, Scott. Hopefully someone would look after him when he was gone for good. Well, whoever did that would be far safer option than him. Ever since their parents had died two years ago, they had lived on their own. They only had each other. A cold feeling ran through Alex when he thought how close he had come to hurt Scott two nights ago. When he had been blinded by his anger towards the men who had taken his little brother and unleashed the fire inside him he had had no idea if Scott had made it out in time. The red, hot beams of light had destroyed everything on their way, burning the men literally into ashes… Alex sat up, holding his head in his hands. He had always been a troublemaker, but he had never wanted to kill anyone. The sight had been sobering and he had ran out of the house, the fire letting him go. The moment he saw Scott outside, crying, but unharmed he had felt the consequences of his actions for the first time in his life. When the sheriff took him away, he felt almost relieved. A cell was the place for the bad and dangerous people after all.

 

A sudden clang of the opening lock made Alex look up. The sheriff, middle-aged man with brown hair held the door open and looked at him with dutiful expression.

“Alright Summers, it’s time.” He said and gestured for Alex to stand up. The sheriff took the handcuffs and put them on Alex’s wrists, so they were trapped in front of him.

“Take care of Scott for me.” The words were out before he could stop them. Despite all the times Alex had insulted, tricked and caused trouble to the Sheriff, he was a good man with high morals. Maybe if he looked after Scott, his brother would grow up to be something better than he ever was. The man looked at him and nodded once.

“Of course.” He promised before he took a firm grip of Alex’s shoulder and upper arm and they led him out of the sell and the office.

 

The sun stung Alex’s eyes and he had to blink rapidly to get them used to the brightness. There were people there, watching silently as he was led to the stage. Alex walked the stairs stiffly up, his heart pounding faster and faster, like it wanted to escape the inevitable faith. When he saw the judge, the hangman and the empty noose his mind started to scream. He didn’t want to die! Not yet! Still, the sheriff’s firm hands pushed him forwards. He was brought to a halt in the middle of the stage and when he looked down, he saw the lines of the trapdoor where he was standing. He looked quickly back up, feeling tears in his eyes. The judge was talking, but he couldn’t hear the words, it was like he was talking from somewhere very far. Cold terror grew inside him. He didn’t want to be alone! He wanted his mother!

 

 _‘Alex, be ready to run.’_ A sudden warm voice made Alex’s breath catch. What?

“Ladies and gentlemen!” The voice rang through the air, like a whiplash. On the roof of the building opposite the stage were standing two men. Their faces were hid behind scarves and under their hats.

“How nice to see that so many of you have come here today as me and my friend here will put on a show like you have never seen before!” The shorter of them announced like a ringmaster and everyone’s attention was drawn to the roof. The sheriff stepped forward and Alex noted that his hand was just inches away from his gun, ready to draw it if necessary.

“Who are you people?” He shouted back, his voice carrying easily through the yard. The men in the roof shared a look and then the other, the taller one, started to speak, his voice certain as a general’s.

“You won’t do anything with that information. Not in this life…”

 

There was a sound of a gunshot and some startled screams. The sheriff had shot at the men, but neither did fall down. The taller man had straightened his arm and held the bullet for everyone to see. The silence fell heavily over the people. Everyone just stared at the bullet that should have pierced through his chest.

“Oh good sheriff…” The man said with deep voice and both his and the other man’s eyes seemed to spark and something like a dark aura surrounded them. “You really shouldn’t have done that.”

“A Demon!” A man in the crowd screamed and suddenly everyone was running. Alex blinked and took a step back. What the hell was going on!

“Alex! Alex, here!” A familiar voice of his little brother made him look back and he saw Scott waving at him from the corner of a building. Alex looked quickly around, but no one was paying any attention to him anymore. They were all too busy running away. Alex didn’t bother to take the stairs and just jumped down from the stage. The impact made his feet sting, but he still made a run for Scott, who hugged him tightly.

“It worked! They saved you!” He smiled brightly at his older brother. Alex noted that his eyes were buffy and red rimmed from crying. “Come on! We have to get out of here!” He continued and started to tug him forward by his sleeve.

 

Slowly, the situation started to sink in.

“Scott, wait a second. You know those men?” He asked, worrying what Scott might have said or promised to those men for doing this, but still ran fast behind him.

“Yes! They promised to help you and they did! They are like you!” Scott explained excitedly as they made a headway from the town and to the surrounding forest.

“You told them about me?” Alex asked, his voice pitching in a way that would have made him embarrassed in any other situation, but that man had _stopped a bullet_. He was quite sure that he had the right to panic.

“I didn’t have to, they knew already. I think it’s because of Charles’ talent.” Scott sounded mildly offended, but kept heading deeper in the forest, but Alex started to get enough. He grabbed his little brother by his upper arm stopped on his tracks.

“Where are we even going?” He asked. It might have come out a bit too harshly as it made Scott flinch. The younger boy blinked a couple of times at his brother before he answered with a tender voice.

“Further in the forest and then close to the road. Erik said they’d meet us again there.” He pointed somewhere in the forest, but Alex didn’t actually care.

“No.” He said, his voice firm and not leaving any room for arguments. Scott just stared at him with wide eyes, like he didn’t understand what the older boy had just said.

“What?”

“We are not going to meet them.” Alex told him and started to drag him in the opposite direction. They couldn’t go back to the town, but they needed to get far away from those men.

“Why not?” Scott whined and tried to tug his arm away from Alex’s grip.

“Because whoever they are, they seem to be dangerous and I don’t want us to be anywhere near them.” Alex almost yelled in frustration and hardened his hold of Scott’s arm. But that was when his little brother decided to dig his heels on the ground and start to fight him with everything, hitting and pulling with all his might.

“Alex, stop, let me go! They’re not dangerous! They just helped to save your life!” He screamed and Alex was forced to stop. They wouldn’t make a lot of progress if Scott decided to have a temper tantrum. He turned and looked his brother straight to the eye.

“And for what price? How much they deemed that my life is worth? What did they ask in return?” Scott seemed to be in the verge of tears and Alex almost felt bad, but this was serious. No one did anything if there was nothing in it for them.

“The- They didn’t.” Scott stammered, looking down and biting his lower lip.

“Well in that case they will! No one does anything like that for free!”

“Wise kid.”

 

The new voice made them both spring around. Standing side by side about 15 feet from them were those two men, Charles and Erik, Scott had told. They had lowered their scarves from their faces and there seemed to be nothing supernatural about them at all. Still, Alex moved so he was standing between them and Scott.

“You should never trust a complete stranger.” The taller one, the same who had stopped the bullet, said and gave Alex a meaningful look, like a teacher who was proud that the student had understood the point of the lesson. It made Alex feel unnerved.

“Stop scaring the kids Erik, they’ve gone through enough today without you terrorizing them.” The other man said and hit the other man to chest, who just smirked.

“What do you want?” Alex cut in and tried to look defiant, not sure how he succeeded, but he knew that he couldn’t show any sign of weakness if he wanted them to get away unharmed. The shorter man, Charles, turned to look at him with an open expression and held his hands up in soothing manner.

“There’s no need to be scared, Alex. We are not going to harm you.” The man’s voice was gentle and Alex felt himself slowly relax. Somehow he felt like he could trust this man. Charles offered him a smile and continued. “We should introduce ourselves. I’m Charles Xavier and this is my friend, Erik Lehnsherr.” He gestured the man beside him, who nodded as a greeting.

“Alex Summers. And apparently you have already met my little brother, Scott.” Alex glanced at the younger boy who had moved to stand close beside him. He didn’t seem scared, only a little nervous.

“Yes, he told us that you were about to get hanged.” Erik said.

“And you decided to help me. Why?” The men shared a short look, before Charles answered.

“Well, you might have guessed already, that we are like you Alex. We too have extraordinary abilities and I saw Scott’s memory of the night you used your ability to save him. We couldn’t let them kill you, you were just defending yourself and your brother.” Alex let the man speak, but still gave them a dubious frown.

“So, you don’t want anything from me? From us?” He asked slowly and this time, Charles smiled at him brightly.

“Just a short talk. Nothing more, nothing less.” He said and Alex nodded. Why the hell not.

“I think you don’t need those any anymore.” Erik said and raised his hand a bit. Alex tensed, but there was only a quiet clang sound of metal and the handcuffs dropped to the ground with a heavy thud. Both Alex and Scott stared at them with surprise. “Shall we then?”

 

…

 

Next twenty minutes passed as the boys listened Charles and Erik. They told little about their own powers, how they were searching others like them and that there was some people with powers who were ready to hurt. When they offered them a chance to come with them, Alex wanted to say yes, but it wasn’t so simple.

“You know I’m dangerous, right? I mean it!” He insisted when Charles seemed ready to argue. “I destroyed a building in less than a minute and burned three men into ashes. I’m not exactly a person you want around people.” His voice gave away his frustration and he felt how Scott hugged his right arm. He looked at his little brother who watched him with wide, concerned eyes. Alex tried to smile to him, but it felt very forced. Scott would always be in potential danger as long as he was around Alex. Maybe it would have been better to just let himself be hanged.

 _‘No, it would not have been better.’_ Charles’ voice made him look up. The man’s eyes were full of understanding. _‘Your brother loves you, Alex. He knows that you would never hurt him on purpose. If you had died, he would have been devastated. He would have been alone.’_ It took Alex a second to realize that Charles wasn’t talking aloud, but inside his head. Wow, that was freaky.

“We are all dangerous.” Erik said aloud. “But fearing your powers will only make things harder. You need to learn to control them, understand that they are part of you. And I’m quite certain that we can help you.”

“How?” It came out harsh, but Alex didn’t have energy to care anymore.

“Well, we made it this far with Erik. We learned together. It won’t be easy, but wouldn’t it be worth trying?” Charles asked and when Alex hesitated he felt tugging at his arm. He turned to look down at his brother. Scott was watching him with a challenging look that made him look a bit like their mother.

“Come on Alex! This is your chance, don’t waste it!” Alex felt his stance bending towards “yes”, but there was still one final thing to ask.

“What about Scott? He has no powers.” He asked and took his brother’s hand and squeezed it. He wouldn’t leave his brother. Charles smiled at him and Erik seemed… proud?

“Don’t worry. We already have one young girl among us that hasn’t shown any signs of powers. We don’t want to tear families apart.” Charles said and the brothers shared a meaningful look. Alex made his choice with certainty which he hadn’t felt for a long time.

“Sounds like a plan.”


	5. Chapter 4. An old friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Mild violence, suffocation and pain.

It was the middle of the night. The stars and the moon were hiding behind slowly traveling clouds, appearing only every now and then. Because the lack of light, the forest was completely dark. For Hank, it was perfect for hiding. He was sitting on the low branch of a tree and clawed the rough bark in anxiety, questions flying in his head like a swarm of bees. What should he do? How could he fix this? Was there a way? What if there wasn’t? Where could he go? Would he be forced to live in the forests for the rest of his life? Or would he be hunted down and killed like a dangerous animal? He tried to think logically, but it was still difficult. He didn’t want to believe that this was real. Maybe this was just a nightmare and soon he would wake up in his office where he had once again fallen asleep while working. But as he looked down at himself, seeing ripped clothes, blue fur, animalistic limbs, sharp claws and the body that was nothing like his lanky form before, it set him to the desperation all over again.

 

Soon, a sound of a snapping twig pulled Hank out of his buzzling thoughts. He went completely still and listened, heart pounding hard against his ribcage. Hank hoped and preyed with everything he had that it was just a wild animal, but then he heard human voices. Talking. And they were coming closer. He turned his head towards the sound and could see a torchlight between the trees, not even 20 meters away from him. He had to get away from their path, hide away from the light. Hank jumped down from the tree and started to move away from the light as silently as he could. He should be fine if he got even dozen meters to north.

 

Or that's what he thought, but soon he noticed that the men changed their direction too and came still towards him. Hank frowned, and tried to move from their path again, but they followed his movement. Hank tried to get away, but somehow the men just kept following him. He didn’t know how it was possible, they certainly couldn’t see him and they moved too quickly to be tracking him. So how? Hank shook his head. He needed to make them leave him alone. He had to attack. Not to hurt, he couldn’t do that, he was still a doctor and he had sworn to save lives, he only wanted to scare them and make them run away. So Hank stopped and hid behind a large tree and waited for the men to come closer. Yet, they stopped just when they were about 15 feet away for no apparent reason. Well, there was no time to wonder that. It was time to act.

 

Hank let out an animalistic growl and leaped from behind the tree. The men, there were two of them, yelped and the bigger one of them reached for a gun. Hank acted with instinct and swiped the man’s arm with his claws, making the man back down with a grunt.

“No, please, wait!” The other man shouted, the one with the torch. Hank turned to him, baring his teeth and growling. Why weren’t they running already? The man was holding his other hand up in a calming gesture and walked slowly to his partner, but never looking away from Hank. The young doctor didn’t know what to do. This wasn’t going as he planned at all. Maybe he should run? Yes. He could easily get away from these men, as his new form had blessed him with superior speed. But the look on the smaller man’s face made him hesitate. The man looked at him with a considering frown and now that Hank looked at the men properly too, they seemed somehow familiar. But where… The man’s eyebrows shot to his hairline and he let out an audible gasp. “McCoy?” He asked and Hank froze. How did he know him? How did this man recognize him like this? “Doctor Henry McCoy. What happened to you?” The man sounded incredulous and his partner, who was now clutching his arm with his uninjured hand, looked like he had no idea what was happening.

“How- How do you know me?” Hank asked, his voice rough. He hadn’t spoken for a while.

“You helped us. Helped Erik when he had been shot. At the Wolverine inn, about two or three months ago.” The man’s voice was a bit distressed, but still mostly calm and the pieces clicked together in Hank’s mind.

“I remember you. You are wanted criminals.” Learning that had been a bit of a shock. They hadn’t seemed evil or malicious. They didn’t seem like that now either. The taller man seemed to become wary and Hank hurried to continue. “I never told anyone about it.”

 

They fell silent after that, nobody quite knowing what to do or say. Hank was still astonished about this reencounter.

“How did you even recognize me?” He asked, even he couldn’t do that when he saw his reflection on the surface of a pond or a lake.

“I recognized your mind.” The smaller man said and Hank frowned. He what now? The man let out a short laugh. "Maybe it’s time to properly introduce ourselves. My name is Charles Xavier.”

“And I’m Erik Lehnsherr.” The other man said, looking still wary.

_‘And we are like you, Henry. We are different from the normal people. We have a gift.’_ Hank got startled when he heard Charles’ voice like it was inside his head. He looked between the two men.

“You don’t look different.” The words made him sound like a whining child and Hank wanted to take them back immediately. But still, inside him, he felt betrayed. This what he had was not a gift. It was a curse and would always be.

“You didn’t always look like this. What happened, Henry?” Charles asked and Hank looked down.

“It’s complicated.” He told them, not wanting to talk about it. But Charles wouldn’t back off.

“You could show us.” He said and when Hank looked up, he saw that he was gesturing at his temple with his fingers. _‘I promise I won’t look at anything else.’_ He assured and despite feeling a bit scared, somehow Hank knew that he could trust this man. So he nodded and Charles put his fingers to his temple and closed his eyes.

 

_Hank was working with his experiments again. It was the middle of the knight but his new workroom was properly lighten with candles. He was especially excited about this project, he felt like he was close to a breakthrough. Suddenly, there was a loud banging noise right outside his window, which made him jump and some bottles that contained different poisons, extracts and what else fell down from their places on the shelves and broke on the table. Some of the contents splashed on Hank and others caused different reactions like creating very nasty smoke that burned Hank’s throat and made his eyes water. Coughing aggressively, Hank tried to walk to the window, so he could open it, but before he made it there his knees buckled and he fell to the ground. He felt burning pain inside him and tumbled on his side. He started to feel fuzzy, he couldn’t properly breathe between the coughs. Was this the end? Would he die like this? Suddenly it felt like someone cut through his chest and limbs, making his vision white with pain. He heard screaming, only later he realized that it was him. Hank forced his eyes open and saw how blue fur grew all over his arms and hands, until the pain reached his head and he was forced to close his eyes once again. He felt his body convulsing and the world turned black. It could have been minutes or hours, but when it finally ended, Hank couldn’t do anything else but breathe._

_When he finally felt steady enough to open his eyes, he noticed that he wasn’t in his workroom anymore, he wasn’t even in his house, but outside, surrounded by trees. Why was he here? How did he end up in here? Hank sat up slowly, his body feeling sore. He looked around, but all he could see was forest bathing in the light of early morning. Hank had no idea where exactly he was. Not near the village, that much was certain. He lifted his hand to rub his face, but as soon as saw it, he froze and stared. His hand, more like a paw now, was covered in blue fur. Hank turned his hand back and forth, trying to will it to change back or convince himself that it was actually not his hand. But as it stayed the same and followed his every command, he used it to feel his face and head. But it didn’t feel right. His glasses were gone, his face was framed with long fur, his ears pointed and much too high on his skull and his nose was flat, forming a slight snout. Hank trembled, his breathing became heavy and his mind clouded with panic. He screamed, his alien voice drowning in the silence of the forest._

 

Hank drew a sharp breath and opened his eyes, not realizing he had closed them. He was back in the present, with two criminals who apparently had some unnatural powers. What had his life become to? Erik’s expression was unreadable, but in Charles’ eyes were moist and expression painfully empathic. Suddenly the silence was too much to bear.

“So, now you know. But why did you follow me? How did you find me?” He wanted answers. Something to make sense. Charles cleared his throat before he spoke.

“With my powers, I can find other people like us. With Erik, we are trying to tell as many as possible, that they are not alone. And if they want to, they can come to live in a place that is safe. With others like us, with no fear of judgement or harm.” Charles sounded enthusiastic and Hank could tell that this was something close to his heart. But it all sounded like a daydream.

“And this home for gifted people, it would really have a place for someone like me? For a beast?” The last word came out more as a growl, like it was just proving the point.

“How old are you, Henry?” Erik’s question startled Hank and he frowned at the tall man.

“I’m 18. Why?”

“You are pretty young to be a doctor.” He said and Hank stood a bit straighter. He had heard this one before.

“I might be, but I can do my job as well as any doctor.” He told the man, who offered him a sly smirk.

“That doesn’t sound like a beast to me.” He said and made Hank dumbfounded. “There’s nothing wrong what you look like. And if Charles looked, I’m sure that your mind was as sharp as it has always been.” Hank thought about the man’s words. He hadn’t thought about that.

“Maybe you could patch up Erik’s arm while you think about this. I’m sure that this has been a rough week for you.” Charles suggested and dug a bandage roll from his bag. Hank looked at the man and then at the bandage, before stepping forward and took it from Charles.

“Sit there.” Hank told Erik and gestured a nearby tree stump. “And you Charles, give me some light. Thank you.”

 

Soon Hank was wholly focused on the job in hand. It made him calm down, doing something familiar. He was even able to forget that he was the one responsible of the shallow wound. Charles and Erik were quiet, letting him work. When Hank was satisfied, he stood up and felt much more centered.

“Thank you.” Erik said and pulled his shirtsleeve down.

“You’re welcome. And sorry, ah, for attacking you in the first place.” Hank felt like he was blushing from embarrassment, but he was quite sure that it couldn’t be seen in his new form. Small miracles.

“Just don’t do it again, or I will be forced to hurt you.” Hank wasn’t sure if the man was joking or not and he decided that he didn’t need to find out.

“Umm, you said, Charles, that you could sense people like us. But you didn’t say anything the last time we met.” Hank thought aloud.

“I noticed that part of my gift just recently. And at the time, I was not in my best.” Charles told him.

“So, that made you to do this. Your new power?” Hank asked and the two other men shared a troubled look, making him uneasy. “What?”

“Actually no. Not entirely.” Charles said and then they told Hank the reason why Erik had been in critical condition when they first met. About the man named Shaw and his followers. Hank could only be relieved that they hadn’t found him first.

 

“So, what do you say, Henry? Are you interested?” Charles asked, friendly smile on his lips and only then this all started to actually feel real. For the first time in week, Hank felt like he was actually in charge.

“It would be nice to have a doctor with us. My and Charles’ medical knowledge goes only so far.” Erik noted.

“And a new member of the family.” Charles continued.

“Are there many of us?” Hank asked, curiosity taking better of him.

“If you count me and Erik, six. But if you also count Ororo and Scott, then eight. They don’t have powers, but were family to others.” Charles explained and Hank took a moment for himself and thought this through. But he was quite sure that he had made his choice long ago.

“Please, call me Hank." He said and mirrored Charles’ bright smile. "Where are we headed?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't finished the next chapter yet... Well, it's been said that people work best under some stress XD Ah, I'm so screwed...


	6. Chapter 5. Spreading my wings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for period typical racism and mild violence

The inn was full and the atmosphere high. It wasn’t surprising as it was Saturday night and most of the people there had a day off tomorrow. Angel, 16-year-old, Hispanic girl with black hair and brown eyes, was picking up empty glasses from tables and pushing her way through the crowd towards the kitchen area. As she moved past the owner, Mr. Hill, she heard his angry and panicked muttering.

“That damn pianist will ruin me!” Yeah, that might also be the reason why everyone was in so high spirits. The pianist Mr. Hill had hired to play tonight was nowhere to be seen, so before the costumers turned into an angry mob, Mr. Hill had offered free drinks for everyone to soothe them until the entertainment arrived. Which hadn’t happened yet and that made usually sour man even more spiteful. “Hurry up girl, what am I paying you for!” The man commanded and Angel hurried her steps, rolling her eyes when she was sure he couldn’t see her.

 

As she put the glasses down and started to wash them Angel let out a frustrated sigh. She was aware that she was supposed to be happy that she even had a job. Not many orphans made it that far. Not girls at least. If Mr. Hill hadn’t hired her, she would have ended up selling herself in a brothel. This was by far the better option, but it didn’t mean she had to like it. She had thought of leaving many times, trying her luck somewhere else, but she wasn’t alone anymore, so running away wasn’t an option.

 

An increasing noise of the men in the bar drew Angel away from her thoughts. She put the glasses aside and took a peek in at the group from the doorway of the kitchen. It seemed like the people started to get annoyed again, despite the free alcohol. If the pianist didn’t show up soon there would be consequences. Destroyed furniture and beaten up men most likely. The last time that had happened, Mr. Hill had paid her less for a month. Like it had been her fault or something. Angel was barely getting along now. Even two weeks with less money would be hard. And Angel was fed up with being poor. Her eyes drifted to the piano, standing beside a small stage. Sometimes people who came to play in the inn showed her a thing or two and she had noticed that she actually enjoyed playing. And even if she said so herself, she was quite good at it.

 

Just like that, an idea formed in her mind and Angel smiled slightly mischievously. She took an empty glass jar from one shelf and slipped back in the bar. She made her way to the piano and glanced at Mr. Hill on the other side of the room. He seemed busy calming some people down to notice Angel, so she kept going. She opened the jar and put it on top of the piano before sitting down. She felt a thrill go through her as she put her hands down on the keyboard. This was it. Her star moment. She took a deep breath and let her fingers press the keys down, creating a soft sound that made people standing or sitting closest to the piano turn their heads and fall silent. Angel gave them a sly smile and kept playing, it was a calm, almost sad, tune and slowly the whole room fell silent. Angel let herself to take a look at her audience and noticed that they were clearly falling under her spell. Well, everyone except for Mr. Hill, who looked like he was just barely containing his rage, but Angel didn’t care. She let her fingers dance on the keyboard and on the right moment she started to sing. Quietly at first, but as she gained confidence her voice gained strength.

 

When Angel was sure that she had their whole attention, she paused for a second or two and gave a sly look towards them before she started to play new, much more cheerful tune. The people cheered, raising their drinks up and Angel started to sing again. The tension that had hovered in the inn had disappeared and the room filled with laughter and drunken singing. Angel felt amazing as she sang and bathed in the positive attention. She felt like a queen. This could be a new beginning. No more dirty dishes and being invisible, this was what she was meant to be.

 

As the night went on, the jar on the piano filled with coins. When it was time to head home, Angel closed the jar, now almost full, and planned to buy something sweet tomorrow. Now she just wanted to go home and let her wings free. Keeping them pressed against her body and under the clothes all the time made them ache.

“Don’t even think I’ll just let you leave like that, greaseball!” Speaking of ache, Mr. Hill’s shouting was about to give one to her head. Angel turned around to look at the man, who was pointing at her with his meaty finger, his face red from rage.

“And what exactly is the problem here Mr.-“

“Shut up you little whore!” The man spat and Angel winced, taking a step back from him. “That piano is worth more than this inn and I don’t want your dirty fingers anywhere near it! Come to think of it-“ And like that, Mr. Hill grabbed the money jar from Angel’s hands, who tried to reach for it in vain. “I don’t want you to come near this whole place. Now get out you coconut, or I throw you myself!”

“That’s my money you bastard!” Angel hissed and tried to get the jar from the man, but Mr. Hill pushed her away with such a force that Angel ended up on the floor.

“I said get out!” He barked and Angel felt how white anger burned inside her. She glared at the man as she stood up.

“You will regret this.” She told him, her tone as cold as ice. She walked away, Mr. Hill’s sardonic laugh echoing behind her.

 

The crispy night air felt refreshing and Angel took a deep breath. It helped her to clear her mind, but did nothing to ease her inner fury. That disgusting, greedy piece of shit! Without her he would have lost all the money and alcohol he had in that place. Angel turned to look back at the place. She would get her revenge, she just needed a plan. Well, there was time for that tomorrow. Now, she just wanted her bed. Fortunately, it would only take about five minutes to get home. Just like that the whole day seemed to weight Angel down and with a one frustrated sigh she started walking.

 

But she didn’t manage to take even the first step when a male voice startled her.

“Well that was just rude.” Angel turned around and saw two men just 15 feet away from her, one leaning his back against the porch of the inn and the other one sitting on top of a barrel beside him. “Decent human beings are difficult to find these days, it seems.” The sitting man continued and Angel let out a humorless snort.

“Tell me about it. I’m starting to get sick of being treated like I’m worth less than dirt.” She answered, to her own surprise, it was usually unwise to speak with strange men in the middle of the night. Yet, she didn’t feel threatened at all at these men’s company. Angel gave the two speculating look. “And who are you?”

“Charles Xavier.” The sitting man said.

“Erik Lehnsherr.” The other spoke for the first time. “And we wondered if you were interested in a business proposal.” Angel frowned, but nodded to the man to continue. “We show you ours, and you show us yours.” The man smirked and Angel barked a short insulting laugh.

“You wish.” And was about to turn around when the man named Erik snapped his fingers and a flask floated from his jacket. Angel stared at it as it made its way towards the other man.

“Can I tempt you?” Erik asked and Charles gave him a sly look before he took the flask that was now floating right in front of him.

_‘Thank you.’_  He said as took a small swig whatever drink was inside. As when his mouth was otherwise occupied and Angel still heard his voice as clear as ever. These were not normal people. They were… like her. A smile spread across Angel’s face. She had never even played with an idea that there could be more people like her.

“Well, I can’t show you here, but I live close.” She said, but then had an idea. “Just a moment” And with that, she ran back to the doors of the inn. She peeked inside from the window and saw no sign of Mr. Hill, so as silently as she could, she opened the door and sneaked towards the piano. When she was there, she lifted the lid that hid the complex insides of the instrument and spit a large ball of acid inside. She watched as metal melted and wood burned before she close the lid and hurried out. Worth more than the whole inn, Mr. Hill had said, Angel truly hoped that it was true. She ran back to the street with light steps and as she turned around she saw the two men looking at her and one of the the inn's windows, Charles seemed amazed and Erik looked like he approved the turn of events wholeheartedly.

“Alright. Now we can go.” Angel said lightly, feeling better already and ran down the stairs and kept walking past the men, towards home, trusting that the two would follow her. Angel was only barely able to contain her excitement when she heard two pairs of footsteps following close behind. This was definitely the beginning of something good.

 

When they were almost there, Angel stopped and turned to address the men.

“We have to be quiet, okay, Jean should be sleeping already.”

“Your friend?” Erik asked nonchalantly, but Angel shook her head.

“It’s complicated.” She answered before she opened the front door and let them in. She lived on the first floor in a sparely decorated, small one room apartment. The lights were out and like she had suspected, Jean was sleeping on her own mattress, only red hair visible under the covers. Poor girl had been hungry and cold when Angel had found her over a year ago, begging for money near the bar. Angel still didn’t know what exactly came over her, maybe Jean had reminded her of herself when she had been in same situation, but she ended up taking the girl home with her and they had lived together since. Their relationship was hard to define, but sisters came closest.

 

Moving as silent as she could, Angel walked across the room to the small dinner table and lit two candles. After that, she took a seat and gestured for the men to do the same.

“So,” Angel said when they were all sitting around the table. “Tell me everything.”

 

They did, and with every word spoken Angel’s excitement only grows. It seemed almost too perfect. Angel had made her mind already and felt like she was giving the world a huge middle finger. All the years feeling lonely and that she doesn’t belong, being the outcast everywhere she went. And now she was told that in reality, she wasn’t alone and that she didn’t need to play by their rules. This lifted her spirits to a new high.

“Sounds fun.” She said, giving a sly smile to the men who shared a curious look. “And as promised, I think it’s time to show you mine.” She continued and started to unfasten the laces of her dress, just enough that she was able to sprout her insect like wings out. It felt good to stretch them after a long day.  She grinned at the men’s dumbfounded expressions. “Yes, I can fly.” She answered the unsaid question, which seemed to draw them back.

“Amazing. “ Erik breathed out and Charles nodded.

“The amount of components that need to be right and work together to make that possible… Have you tried your limits with them? How fast or how high you can go?” Charles asked, his blue eyes seemed to spark from curiosity and Angel was more than happy to answer his questions.

“Faster than I run at least and over the treetops, maybe even higher.”

“And that green saliva you spit earlier?” Erik asked.

“Acid, I can make it if I want to.”

 

“Angel…” Jean’s voice still full of sleep interrupted their conversation. Angel turned around to look at the girl who watched the strange men with wary green eyes. Angel smiled at her and held her hand to the girl.

“Come here hermanita, no need to worry, these men are nice people.” She assured Jean, who slowly stood up and walked to Angel, pressing herself close to her side. Angel stroked her hair as she introduced them.

“Jean, these are Charles and Erik.” Angel gestured each man.

“Hello Jean.” Charles greeted the girl and smiled warmly. The whole room seemed to feel more calm and safe and Angel felt how tension left slowly from 7-year-old’s body.

“I met them today when I was leaving the inn. They are like me and have gifts.” Angel explained and Erik took a small piece of metal out of his pocket, molding it until it looked like a cat and made it walk on the table. Jean’s eyes widened and she let out a breathless ‘wow’. Angel hugged her little closer and asked:

“What’d you say about a change of scenery?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This works as therapy for me, for I don’t like Jean that much. I don’t even know why, something about her just annoys me greatly. But it felt wrong to leave her out after I worked Ororo and Scott into this story. So hopefully writing about her helps. She didn't do much here, but hey, baby steps.   
> About the next chapter... I haven't even started it yet. I finished this chapter just now so we'll see how this goes. X'D I'll take this as a challenge!


	7. Chapter 6. Scream and run

The marketplace was as busy as ever. The sunny day had brought even more people out than normally and the air was filled with sounds and smells.

 

Sean, a red haired, thin boy was standing at the side of the square, out of everyone’s way. He didn’t want to draw any attention to himself, and was doing fine job, no one seemed to notice him standing there and eating an apple he had snatched from a random stall earlier. He watched the crowd, waiting for the right victim. If he played his cards right, he should have enough money for the rest of the week, maybe even longer. Right now, he only had few coins at the bottom of his pocket.

 

It took a while, but eventually spotted a wealthy looking older gentleman who put his wallet negligently in his jacket’s pocket. Well well well, Sean thought, this was just the thing he had been waiting for. With a quick glance around, to make sure that no one was watching, he walked into the crowd, following the gentleman’s tall and thin form.  He needed to strike before the man made it out of the crowd, but an ideal moment hadn’t yet shown itself.  Sean was starting to get nervous, but right then the crowd around them seemed to get even more crammed. It was now or never!

 

Sean sped up his steps so he was walking just behind the man. From this distance, he was able to see the bulge that was the wallet in his pocket. Just a sleight of hand and he could take the rest of the week off. Unfortunately, things rarely were that easy. Just when Sean reached out for the wallet, another hand, this much bigger than his, grabbed him by the wrist so hard it hurt. Sean let out a startled sound and tried to free himself, but in vain, the grip was strong and unyielding.

“What on earth-?” The gentleman said and turned around to see what was going on.

“Excuse me sir, but it seems that this punk tried to steal your wallet.” The man who had stopped Sean explained. He had cold eyes and a posture of a soldier. Shit! This was bad…

“No! I swear, I had no intension to-“

“Do you know what happens to thieves, boy? They get their hand cut off.” The man pulled huge knife from his belt and Sean knew he had to get away from there and fast.

 

So, he screamed. Towards the ground, to make sure not to hurt anyone, but it was loud enough to make the man let go of him and cover his ears, as did many other around them. Sean legged it and pushed his way through the crowd. Behind him he was able to hear shouting. “Get him! Don’t let him get away! Police!” Oh, that couldn’t mean anything good. As Sean got out of the crowd and further away from the marketplace he could hear the police whistles, alerting everyone about the chase that was going on. Sean tried to think any way out of this situation. Maybe he could make it to the nearby forest. He was a good runner, he could lose them there. With this plan in mind, he took a turn to the right. He could do this!

 

Suddenly he was gripped again, this time by the collar of his shirt and he was yanked to an alley. His yelp was consumed by a hand that covered his mouth and an arm wrapped around his chest. He tried to wriggle free, but his captor didn’t seem affected.

“Shut up and don’t move if you want to get out of this unharmed.” A male voice growled in to his ear and Sean did as he was told because of the sheer terror. In less than five minutes his day had gone from wonderful to deadly. Why was this happening to him?

 

The noises of the police came closer and closer and soon Sean saw them running past the alley they were in. Sean couldn’t even blink when two police officers walked in the alley, looking around, looking for _him_. It was over. They would catch him and take him to jail. There was no way the officers wouldn’t see them, there was no place to hide- But for Sean’s huge surprise, the men didn’t notice him. Actually, it seemed, that they looked straight through him and soon they left and followed their colleagues.

 

What the heck?

 

Behind him, the man let out a long breath and Sean remembered that he was not safe just yet. He started to trash with newfound determination and felt how the man’s grip on him loosened.

“Hey! Stop that! They will hear you!” The man hissed and improved his hold again, making it hard to breathe.

“Don’t hurt him, Erik.” A new voice said, this too, behind him and after a heartbeat the only thing keeping Sean from running was a hand holding his arm.

 

For the first time, Sean was able to see his… captors? Saviors? Well, he’d figure a proper term soon enough. The man who held him was tall and lean, it was difficult to see his face, as it was covered with a scarf and a brim of a hat, and only thing Sean was able to see was the man’s steely eyes. They made the boy uneasy. The other man was shorter, and like the other’s his face was covered too, but his blue eyes seemed much kinder. If Sean had to beg for his life, he would take his chances rather with him.

“Look, I don’t know what you want, but I have nothing worth stealing.” Sean wasn’t even ashamed how panicky his voice sounded.

“We are not going to hurt you. We just want to talk.” The blue-eyed man assured with calm voice. Sean glanced quickly at the hand still gripping his arm.

“Do you always just snatch the people you want to talk to from the streets to empty alleys?” He asked and the taller man snorted.

“Only the ones who are running from the cops.” He said and Sean stuttered, opening and closing his mouth until he just huffed and looked away, heat coloring his ears.

“And what makes you think that _I_ want to talk with _you_?” He asked and the silence that followed made him nervous.

 

Suddenly, five coins were floating in front of him. What the…

“Oh, just a hunch.” The taller man said and the coins flew neatly to his hand. WHAT THE-

“That…” Sean looked from the coins to the man’s face and was quite sure that he was grinning under his scarf. “That was wicked! How did you do that?” Sean asked, all the fear leaving him.

“Like you, we too have gifts.” Sean was sure that his eyes were comically wide.

“How do you know about that?” He asked and this time, the other man spoke.

“That would be part of my gift, but maybe we should keep talking somewhere else. Somewhere where we are not in danger to get caught by the police.” He suggested.

“That might be easier said than done, as everyone is now trying to spot me.” Sean said, knowing that most of the people who had seen him run away, would want the kudos from catching a criminal. The man shared a look and it almost looked like they were having a conversation.

“Just keep your head down and everything will be fine.” The blue-eyed man finally said and Sean nodded, remembering how the police officers hadn’t seemed to notice him earlier.

 

…

 

They made it to the outskirts of the town without any problems and the men led him to a wagon that was apparently theirs.

“Hop in. We’ll ride a bit further away so we can talk in peace.” The taller man told him and Sean climbed inside the wagon. There were few boxes and sacks, plenty of room for him. He sat down on top of one of the boxes and soon they were moving.

 

It didn’t take long before the wagon stopped and the men moved inside too. They had lowered their scarves and Sean could tell that they were maybe in their mid-twenties. They couldn’t be more than decade older than Sean was. And they seemed familiar somehow…

“It might be good to start with introductions, don’t you think? My name is Charles Xavier.” The shorter man said.

“And I’m Erik Lehnsherr.” The other told.

“Sean Cassidy. So, what did you want to speak me with?” Sean asked, tapping his foot against the floor, excitement and nervousness demanding some kind of release.

“Just a small story and an offer.” Charles said and proceeded to tell Sean about what had happened to him and Erik, about Shaw and about others like them, who now lived together. And now Sean remembered where he had seen them before.

“So you were the guys who broke into the most secure bank in whole America! That’s so cool!” Charles looked like he didn’t know how to answer and Erik lifted one eyebrow.

“That’s what you took from all of this?” He asked and Sean shrugged, not sorry at all.

“Well, now that we’ve told you everything, we wanted to offer you a chance to come with us.” Charles continued, ignoring them.

“To live with you? Sure.” Sean said, smiling and shrugging again. This sounded like a good next plan. He had skipped to town to town, looking around since he had left his family’s home farm a year ago. Erik and Charles shared a quick look.

“Well, that was easy. Do you want to go back to town and pack your things?” Charles asked, but Sean shook his head.

“No need, I don’t have much anyway. And I’ve always traveled lightly.” The men gave him a curious looks but didn’t press it. Sean didn’t mind sharing. “I left my family about a year ago. We lived in a small farm, but money was always tight, not a miracle when there was seven children to feed, so I decided to leave. I always wanted to see the world. I did small jobs, sometimes I stole some money if I had to, traveled around and enjoyed the freedom. But… if I’m honest, I kind a missed a place I could call home.” He finished and looked up too see Charles smile warmly at him.

“Well, maybe now you’ll have one.” He said and Sean pointed at Erik.

“But only if you stay away from me.” He deadpanned and the man grinned at him and oh god there were way too many teeth in that mouth.

“No promises.” Erik said and Charles hit him in the arm, but couldn’t suppress his laughter entirely.

 

These people were mad, Sean thought, but then again, normal was boring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It feels like Charles and Erik go to people like: “Excuse me, but do you have time to talk about our lord and savior, mutation.” XD
> 
> I did it! I finally finished it! Now there is just one more fic. It will be multi-chapter, but It might take a while until I get anything done... I need a small brake. ^-^' But I have done some planning already and I will do my best to write it soon. Thank you all from kudos and comments, they've helped me to keep going :)


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